Nancy Martin wins Saskatchewan women’s curling championship

Nancy Martin and her Saskatoon team are Saskatchewan’s women’s curling champions.

After being the runner-up in 2023 and 2024, Martin was finally able to claim the Viterra Prairie Pinnacle with a 9-7 win in the championship game on Sunday evening in Kindersley over Jolene Campbell and her Regina rink.

Martin and her Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club squad — featuring third Chaelynn Stewart, second Kadriana Lott, lead Deanna Doig and alternate Colleen Ackerman — will now wear the green jacket as Team Saskatchewan at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts from Feb. 14-23 in Thunder Bay, Ont.

It will be the second career trip for Martin and Stewart after playing alongside skip Sherry Anderson in 2021 while it will also be the second for Doig, who played with Penny Barker in 2017. Lott, a Manitoba product and 2024 Canadian Mixed Doubles champion who joined Martin’s team this year, will be making her Scotties debut

After putting together a 7-1 round robin record, which included an 8-3 win over Martin on Friday, Campbell, alongside third Rachel Erickson, second Abby Ackland, lead Dayna Demmans out of Regina’s Highland Curling Club, secured the No. 1 seed heading into the playoff round.

Meanwhile, Martin and company had a 6-2 round robin record to finish as the No. 2 seed. And in the 1-2 page playoff game, Campbell and her Regina squad came out on top 9-2 to book their spot in the final.

Martin then beat Team Ashley Thevenot 15-8 in Sunday morning’s semifinal to get a second chance at Campbell.

And in the championship game, Campbell started with the hammer but it was Martin opening the scoring with a steal of two in the first end after Campbell crashed on a guard with her last shot.

After a blank in the second end, Martin stole a point in the third end before also earning a steal in the fourth to go up 4-0.

Campbell got back into the game in the fifth with three points to make it 4-3 before the teams traded single points in the sixth and seventh ends.

Martin scored a deuce in the eighth to take a 7-4 lead before Campbell tied the game with a three-point end in the ninth after Martin crashed on a guard with her last.

With the game tied 7-7 entering the final end, Campbell needed a draw to the four foot with her last to force Martin into a tough shot. But Campbell was just short and Martin didn’t need to throw her final stone as she escaped with the 9-7 win.

Meanwhile in the men’s provincial championship, after losing in the final last year, Rylan Kleiter’s Nutana Curling Club foursome beat Steve Laycock and his Swift Current rink 8-5 on Sunday night to claim the 2025 SaskTel Tankard and the right to represent Saskatchewan at the Montana’s Brier in Kelowna, B.C. from Feb. 28 to March 9.

It will be the first trip to the Brier for the 26-year-old Kleiter, a four-time provincial junior champion, third Joshua Mattern, second Matthew Hall and lead Trevor Johnson. Their coach, Dean Kleiter, represented Saskatchewan twice as an alternate in 2001 and 2003.

Team Kleiter will be one of two Saskatchewan-based teams at the event as Team Mike McEwen, who lost in the Brier final last year to Brad Gushue, has pre-qualified for the national championship.

Also on Sunday, CurlSask announced that Melville will host the 2026 SaskTel Tankard and Viterra Prairie Pinnacle in a similar joint format to the 2025 championship with both the men’s and women’s events being held at the same time.?

tshire@postmedia.com